Pea grader



C. E. RIFE PEA GRADER Jan. 12, 1932.

Filed Aug. 4, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet C. E. RIFE PEA GRADER Jan. 12, 1932.

gm fig C. E. RIFE Jan. 12, 1932.

PEA GRADER l l LHHl l lu l! #1 nllTllull C. E. RIFE PEA GRADER Jan. 12, 1932 Filed Aug. 4. 192'? 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Jan. 12, 1932. c. E. RIFE 1,841,299

PEA GRADER Filed Aug. 4, 1927 s Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Jam 12, 1932 e 7 i 7 111a:

CHARLES nnw m nzrn, on B riirironn; iiiinirrinnni w G eme i npnlicationfiilejd 'Au'gus t Ser This' invention relates to the'gradingoi small articlessucli as peas and has-for? its" principal object the provision ofa machine" for grading the peas .or other articles in sep-- t3 urate non-nested cyllnclersand aiding in the passage of the peas from one cylinder to another by a stream ofwater; 2

A further and important object of the present invention lies in the provisio'nof a gear drive foreachof thecylinders whereby the speed of any'cylinder may he held ata very definite figure. A further objectis the provision of a pea grading machinewhich requires no cleaning in the "general sensiof the Word. E 1 Up to the present tinie'all peagrad'ers have beenv driven indirectly, thatis the connection between the drivingwvheelj and the grading cylinder has been such "as to p'er1nit=a*slip be-- tween the two and this hasheen rribre'orlessl i-Fig'urefi a fsection thru; a driving trav-L f eer.i ,.i t

essential in some of the machines and has been immaterial in others; particularly those having a pluralityof concentric sie've'sfi In the present device each andievery oneiof the cylinders which are one less in nnmberthan the grades ofpeas, may be driven at the speed which has been found by practice tohe' cor rectfor [that cylinder.

' "Viany Workers in the arthave takengpai'ns to keep thewater from the peas; holding that Water will harm them but pfacticah experience over quite 'afperiod 0'1": tiine ha's shown, that this is not the case; at: but that; the contrary the useoffvv'ater to lcdnvejf 'the pea-s from one grading' wylinder-to anothefi is not only advantageoils from the handling standpoint but actually is beneficial to1fthe' peas themseltes and furthermore this water aids in theelinriination of :lthe daily cleaning o of each cylinder, otherw se necessary anel.

also eliminates any final Washing ofthepeas since the grader itself performs th'isfnnctionL I 1 In-the present device theipeas alien ted-into a fourth sieve 'D at t'he same height as the Fig'ure- Bisa-Side elevation.

an elevated sieve A and are Washed: down V gentle'inclineto' a lower sieve B and again 1103; a still lower sleve C and. arexthen elevated to" entrance sieve A and froIn-here are again washed down to a lower'o'r fifth sieveyE;

discharge -the number 12 or second smallest s1 e peas';" Thrliout the entire device the peas Q pare always adniitted to the feed end of the grader; and each sieve discharges the; grade 1 retained by it tethe opposite or discharge end o'f themachine making itfv'e'ry convenient I tith gradedipeas-a; v D h draWings:- l I V a 360 fP-l i'gure; l is; a 'side' elevation:; h i feed eIIdoffthe device e I 1 i lgiir'efl-is a side elevation on th fl o di geend, v a

Figuiefi'is af feed endelevation of the Bj I -Figure-5 is'fl' discharge end elevation of" Fignre :6i'lS a detail of the drivi'ngmecha Figure Sis adetail showing the Waterdis' charge. 7' I igure- 9 isa s'ectional'detail thruan idlen traveler .gn

The 'sever'alicylind ar'e inountednpon a next taner upright sueh as' 1 Poweriis"received hru" transniittedjto' theprimary:sliaft-3'l thru 1a clutchi32 haiving ahandile' 33fipivoted as at-35 I 'gears38 a nclA O drivingrespectivelyaiheveled'Q I gear 41"on shaft.42 andgabeveled gear g on e i Be"eledg"gear44 is in 'nnesh with O iyl t r i the: gear 47 on the sloping. shaft-1.48 which 'translnitspovverijto' longitudinal "shaft 505w 1 7 Whichii's fiseenred'the travelers 53, which drive 'both-of the.upperrsievesAand Avertical shaft 55 atthea-elevator 01 feed? end of the 95 devicevtransmits fpower to) shaft 56 "which H 2 I drives sieve B awhijch is; at; an n intermediate r f ,heig

'Shaftg0fextendslieyond fid side an V a of an inch in'diameter and decreasing in size by one number (1. e., 3 2 of an inch) down to the smallest or number 2 size which is .the-refore retaining the Number peas whi'l'e permitting inch diameter peas, Number 1' size, to pass. The sieve B which is at an intermedlate height is shown n larger scale 1n Figures e and 5, similar to the views of the same element in Figures 1 and 2, respectively. The characters denoting the similar elements of the other sieves follow the numbering of parts of B differing only in the initial capital letter.

. Sieve B consists of two identical cylinders B1 of sheet metal preferably zincperforated towithhold the larger size of pea admittedto the-sieve and to pass peas of smaller sizes.

Each sheet is permanently secured to a circular angle member B2 and these two angle members are secured together with their transverse flanges back to back so that the two zinc cylinders form to allintents and purposes a single piece. At the discharge end of the zinc cylinder is secured a ring B3 have ing a central, radial, integral, cut gear B4. A similar ring is at the feed end as the two endsof each sieve are-positively driven. At

, the center, each sieve is supported by. an idling traveler B5 in a bearing B6 and at each end each sieve is supported by two quite:simi lar but geared travelers,one a drlverand the other an idler, these belng on the drive shaft traveler is'den'oted B9.

1? 56 and idle shaft B? respectively, the driving traveler being numbered B8 while .the idling I It willgbe noted however, that both-B8 and. B9 are geared while B5 is not geared since it engages "the flangesB2.. The sieve; B is thereforesup portedientirely by thesiX travelers ,andithese in turn are supported by the longitudinally extending I-be'ams 20: and 2-1, the hearings in each case being given the numeral 6..

,At the feed end-ofthe sieve'Band within the circular stiflening angle member B10 is a plate B11 supported from the framework byanch or pieces B12.: The plate Bllylcommunicates with a curved pipe Al i leading from thenear or bottomend of thetrougli of thersi'eve with the next largerfopenings, -i. e., the'one that withholds the next larger size vpeas,'in this case, sieveA. "The peas which. .pass thru the sieve-in the case ofzsiejve "B, 7 this will be sizes 1, 2, 3 and't'idrop'{doWn chargesthe Number 4 size. 7 insteadof'disch-argingito a pipe such as B14 Wardly from the sieve cylinder B1 to a trough B15 which has a flat feed end plate at the very bottom of which is a circular orifice B16 delivering the peas to the curved pipe B14 exactly like the semi-torus pipe A14 at the discharge end. There is a plate B20 supported from the transverse angle piece B21 by means-of bracketsflB22. .This discharge end plate B20 leads vertically downward to a discharge pipe B23 which curves outwardly 1 and away from the machine as best seen in F1gur e 3 and delivers the single grade of peas to a container or bin, not shown.

The water whlch performs an lmportant feature in the present invention is delivered thru a: riser B25 receiving water from the horizonta-l'main water pipe 75. At the top of this riser pipe B25 is an -L B26 leading to the horizontal. spray pipe B27, there being a valve B28 to control or'shut off the water fromithfe spray pipe which runs the entire -length of the sieve and is capped at its faror feed end as atB29. The operation of the spraypipe is best shown in Figure 8, the stream of water being denoted by the letter w. It willbe noted that the plane of the streams of water discharged from the orifices in the spray pipe B27 is substantially tangent tothe perforated zinc plate B1 but that by gravity the streams swerve and strike the bottomwall of the trough B15 not far from the pipe B27. The holes in the spray pipe are not'of the samesize but increase in size from the valve end to the capend altho this is not at all essentialeven tho the entire length of 3-1:

the sieve is used for grading. Purely for economy the vertical water. pipe for sieve A correspondingtoB25-is omitted and the longitudinal spray pipe A27. receives its water supply .thru'a transverse waterpipe 82.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 1, the mass of ungraded peas is delivered to a hopper 76 in plate A11,-this hopper taking the place of the entrance opening B13 in the next lowengrader. The largest peas vare withheld: by this sieve A'which revolves in the same .direction as the sieve D since it is traveler 53, the travelers A9 and D9 being idlers as in the othersieves. In those cases where it -,.is desired'to drive the sieve D at a different speed, the sieves Aand D are shifted longitudinally just a bit so that. thegear D4 will not mesh withdriving traveler 53, and' to connectthedri've shaft with the shaft 78, so that-the latter becomes a drive shaft, and providing idlers loose on shaft 50.

The peas passing from A are delivered thru A14 toB which retains and discharges .the Number 5 peas, theother grades passing thru the zinc sieve plates B1 ,to the trough.

B15 andthence to C which retains and dis- The trough C15 preferred in atleast some types todrive both of these upper sieves from the same driving vantage is discharges to the endless belt conveyer orielevator G l housed n casingH, thef buckets ,dlS

charging'at the upper portion of the 'eleva tor to a chute which delivers the lastthree grad-es of peas to a hopper 81 identical with hopper 7,6 of sieve Grades 1 and 2 pass, from thetrough- D15 to somewhat elongated pipe D14 discharging to the final sieve E, the troughE15 ofvwhich differ from all othertroughs in that it slopes downwardly toward the discharge end insteadlof discharging downwardly to the feed end as is the case with the other troughs. The trough of E has a discharge pipe E30 while the discharge hopper E Sldelivers the smallest or Number 1 peas which have passed rollers 1332 (see Figure 5) covered on the outside with crepe rubber ndicated as at B33 and fitting quite loosely on a bar B35 held by links B36 pivoted in brackets B37 secured to the longitudinal upper I-beams such as 22. The great play, clearly shown in Figure 5, permits each section of the roller to ride over an obstruction but be press lightly at all times against the zinc cylinderscand to push back thru the holes or perforations any peas that may be'wedged therein. The roller rods B36 may he spring-pressed but generally gravity is ample to afford the desired light pressure. lVhile I prefer to: drive the several sieves at the speed best suited to the particular grade, all the sieves may readily be driven at uniform speed by having'the beveled ears of the same size, and the device is some llYl-SS made in this manner in actual practice;

hat I claim is 1. The art of grading peas which consists in passlng the entlremass of peas to a sieve to retain the largest sizezp eas,-forcing Water into said sieve to thereby cushion the peas in the sieve, catchingthe ungraded vpeas passing thru thefirstsieve on-a cushion of water, washing said peas down to. a second sieve winch retalns the next larger size, and a cushlon Dir-Water Washmg them down; i

wardlyf by gravity to a fourth separatorfat 12b a level below that ofthe-third separators;- 71 The device of 'claiml including water conveying means for conveying the 'ungraded peas passing thru one sieve 'by gravity, andf elevator means for conveying the washed peas upwardly to the second sieve.

in cushioning and washing the peas downward from the second sieve to the third sieve.

2. In a pea grader, a plurality of cylin-- drical sieves arranged parallel to eachother" between two parallel end frames and at an plurality of elevations, positive gearing for l simultaneously driving all'of said sieves,

' conveying means connecting successive sieves,

and means for discharging water thru said means to cush on and and in the conveying oi the peas from one sieve to the next lower j sieve.

practically 3,1; Af cylindrical I sieve,- means for driving saidisieve, a plurality .of rollers .eachv covered; r

Witlrcrepe rubber resting-lightly on the riphery ofgthe s1e.ve,"and means for dlsch argthe periphery of the sieve approximately 'dl',

a-metrically opposite-to the line ofsaidirollers. 7 Q 4. Apea gradlng sieve COIISlSUHgiOf a .cyl+ lnder of perforated =1netal, a ring 'at. each end of said cylinder, aagear'in each ring, ;a

mg a. plurality :of streams of water against- 'alurali-ty of geared travelers; meshing with 11 the 'ring gears and supporting the"siev e, one q r of said "atravelers being pos tively idrlven, a

V-shapedsloping trough, havinga f rounded bottom, beneath :said. sieve, rand means ffon discharging water against the; periphery of the sieve "to drain into the sieveandconvey the peas falling thru thesieve down said, I

troughxTa I v .s 1

-5.,-.A- 1 pea, grader comprising, in combination, a pluralityjvof cylindrical'sieves of dif ferent mesh 7 having fls'ubstahtiallyl parallel axes: located between gtwo frames 'and atdifferent elevations, the 1 feed 5 ends of i said sieves 'being all located at ion e side of; the 1' grader; chutes at the discharge ends ofisaid' sieves adapted to receive and convey thelpeas, retained by the s1eves, mea-ns forlntroduclng lIltO the feed end of the uppermost s eve-a:

massofungraded peas,-atrough-beneath each, sieve sloping downwardly towards the feed end thereof, a chute communicating with the lower end of each trough except the awesmost trough adapted to discharge into the feedend of the next'lower sieve, and means for conveying the peas from the lowermost trough toan upper sieve, and a lower. sieve into which the peas passing thru' the; last mentioned' sieve are discharged. r

6. The art of grading peas which consists in feeding the peas to a separator which sepa-s rates asinglegrade of peas, forcingl'water l intothe, sieve to therebywash and cushion V the peas,-washing"the ungraded peas from 2 such separator on a cushion of water and washing them downwardly to a separatorfatj a lower level, washingfthe ungraded pleas from saidlsecond f'separ'ator on a second 5 cushion of water and washing them downwardly to an elevator, discharging to a'third v separator at a high level and washingjjthe' v u ngraded; peas from said third separator ontoi 8. A'nest of pea graders consistingof" series of sieves at different levels, and a fur: ther grader beneathsaid series of'graders, a

for conveying peas thrulthe series of graders and finally to the other grader.

9. A nest of graders consisting of a series of graders arranged at successively lower ele- 5 vations, a second series of graders also arranged at successively lower elevations, one of the gradersof the second series being beneath the graders of the first series, and means for conveying peas thru one series of w graders and then thru the other series;

10. A nest of pea graders consisting of three graders arranged side byfisideand at successively lowerelevations, and a fourth grader directly beneaththe hi hest grader atthe same elevation as the third graderyand means for conveying peas from thehighest grader to the grader directly beneath via the other two graders i 11'. In a pea grader, a plurality of laterally arranged substantially parallel cylindrical sieves of difierent .size naesh, a gear secured to the periphery of each sieve, a plurality of idle travelers, a single geared traveler in mesh with the peripheral gears of twosieves, water conveying "means for conveying the ungraded peas passing thru one sieve by gravity, and elevator means for conveying the Washed peas upwardly to one of said two sieves. r E55, In testimony whereof I-aflix my signature.

- .O. ED'WIN RIFEQ 

